Webstore
Encyclopedia
A webstore is a website
that sells products or services and typically has an online shopping cart associated with it. With the popularity of the Internet
rapidly increasing, online shopping became advantageous for retail store
owners, and many traditional “brick and mortar” stores saw value in opening webstore counterparts.
E-commerce Business-toConsumer[B2C] product sales totaled $146.4 billion in the United States in 2006, representing about 6% of retail product sales in the country. The $18.3 billion worth of clothes sold online represented about 10% of the domestic market
.
software, hire an outside web developer
to create their store, or use an ecommerce store platform. Ecommerce store platforms usually charge a monthly fee, grant users access to store templates, and have order management features.
Although there are millions of webstores, successful webstores often require ecommerce know-how and attention to details. Common traits of successful webstores are:
The popularity of online shopping is expected to grow, and whole companies have started up to design webstores for small business owners.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that sells products or services and typically has an online shopping cart associated with it. With the popularity of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
rapidly increasing, online shopping became advantageous for retail store
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
owners, and many traditional “brick and mortar” stores saw value in opening webstore counterparts.
E-commerce Business-toConsumer[B2C] product sales totaled $146.4 billion in the United States in 2006, representing about 6% of retail product sales in the country. The $18.3 billion worth of clothes sold online represented about 10% of the domestic market
Domestic market
A domestic market is a financial market. Its trades are aimed toward a single market. A domestic market is also referred to as domestic trading...
.
Webstore Characteristics
Webstores typically share several similar characteristics, such as:- Sell Products or Services – Although some webstores are simply informational websites for the retail store or company they are associated with, most webstores do sell specific products or services.
- Ecommerce Shopping Cart – The goal of most webstores is to have customers buy their products. These stores have an online shopping cart on their web site, and customers are able to add products to the shopping cart, enter their payment information, and check out.
- Niche Industries – Many webstores target a specific industry and find their own unique corner of the market. However, exceptions include Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
which found success in offering customers a myriad of products.
Online Store Design
There are millions of webstores in cyberspace. Online store owners usually either create their own store using web designWeb design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
software, hire an outside web developer
Web development
Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
to create their store, or use an ecommerce store platform. Ecommerce store platforms usually charge a monthly fee, grant users access to store templates, and have order management features.
Although there are millions of webstores, successful webstores often require ecommerce know-how and attention to details. Common traits of successful webstores are:
- Simplicity – Modern webstores are simple and usually have a left hand navigation bar. Rather than listing products all on one page, they feature only a few products on each page and have links to other products on other pages.
- Search Engine Friendly – One of the most popular ways for customers to find a webstore is by using a search engine. The best webstores conform to search engineSearch engineA search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
best practiceBest practiceA best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
s. - Contact Information – Customers want to make sure there’s a real person behind the online store, so including contact information is a common practice.
- Monitor Sales – Many webstores utilize programs like Google Analytics that allow them to track sales data and how customers access the site.
The popularity of online shopping is expected to grow, and whole companies have started up to design webstores for small business owners.